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Let's get Gorgeous - Fit Mango Style!
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Hi , How did you go? Fridge looking like a million bucks? I hope so. From the number of comments I have had in the past 12 hours, looks like I have hit a nerve!!!
So, now we have a beautiful looking fridge its time to take a look at how we use that gorgeous produce!
Now, before we get started....I wanna apologise to all of the gorgeous men who train with us (yes, you know who you are....). OK, so you boys probably aren't keen on slipping into the slinky number this christmas ...so sorry about that. How about where I say ' slinky black number' you read - boardies- no shirt....and I will try and be more gender sensitive next time (but not promising anything!!).
Right - back to the job at hand!
To begin with, my advice on creating healthy meals is to keep it simple. You can move to sexy cuisine in a little while, but for now, keep it easy, fresh and bountiful! Here is what I mean....
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Step 2: Create a simple meal structure
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So - what do I mean by creating a meal structure? No, I am not advocating sitting down on a Sunday night and writing your meal plan for the week (although, if you are disciplined enough to do this - go for it!). But rather, I am suggesting that we create a simple, repeatable and healthy basis around which to create our meals:
1. Breakfast
Firstly - EAT IT. And include a complex carbohydrate whenever you can. Oats, dense grainy bread, low fat, low sugar muesli. Add to that whatever works for you - low fat yoghurt, berries, tomato, avocado, eggs...all of these things are perfect breakfast foods. The fit mango website has a link to a previous newsletter that discusses lots of great breakfast options - check it out if you are looking for inspiration. If you have a gluten intollerance, life is a little more difficult for you - but we will get to that in a couple of days - for now eggs, gluten free cereal is the go!
2. Lunch
Think Salad, lean protein and if you want to, good dense grainy bread.
My standard lunch is a huge multigrain sandwich (I particularly like Burgen Soy-Lin bread, but any of these dense, grainy breads is good. Be careful of Bakers Delight Cape Seed though. It is a delicious dense, healthy bread, but it has a huge 240 odd calories per 2 slices). On my sambo I pile lean meat (poached chicken is my favourite) and then all the veggies and salad I can. I use a small amount of Avocado instead of butter and add to that a bit of low fat mayo or mustard. This represents about 300-350 calories and will keep me going for hours.
If you prefer or for a change, have a salad with some lean protein and reduce your carb intake. But DON'T delete carbs altogether - this will not help your LONG TERM WEIGHT MANAGEMENT. I will talk a little more about that later. Oh, and 'pasta salad' and and 'potato salad' DO NOT COUNT!!!
Now, a little about sushi.... yes, Sushi is a great, healthier fast food alternative. BUT, it contains mainly white rice, and is very calorie dense. A small box of sushi rolls can be 350 calories - and I doubt it would be enough to satisfy anyone's hunger for long. My advice is to try to steer away from it for a while. By all means, use it as an emergency food - not anywhere near as bad as the bakers delight cheesymite scroll or a patisserie quiche, but don't make it a regular item on your meal plan if you are attempting to lose weight. Sashimi....GO FOR IT!
When you are having/making salads, the key risk point is the dressing. Ask for it on the side, or come up with a tricky no-oil dressing yourself. I love caramelised balsamic on its own as a yummy and simple dressing. No mayo dressings either - they are the work of the devil!
3. Dinner.
Begin with SIMPLE. Lean meat/protein - grilled, or bbq'd with heaps of veggies or salad. Keep potatoes to a minimum (swap it for pumpkin or kumera). Try and include lots of green stuff - baby spinach, rocket, broccoli, beans - the more the merrier. The protein element of your dinner should be around palm size.....NOT PLATE SIZE. Avoid rice, pasta, bread at dinner time whenever you can.
Try to use an oil spray rather than lashings of oil or butter to cook things in - better still, use the BBQ .
I have lots of yummy ideas to on how to 'spice up' this simple formula....watch this space....
4. Snacks. Ok - I know, from talking to many of you that this is where our good intentions fall down. Well, me too! The trick is to follow yesterdays steps and GET RID OF ALL THE DODGY STUFF! Then, plan to have at least 2 snacks during the day. Low fat yoghurt, fruit, vitawheat with avocado and tomato, a small handful of nuts (and I mean small - like 12 nuts...not 122!!). I love muesli bars - especially the Carmens ones. But they are fairly high in calories (about 200) and I like to keep snacks to around 100 calories. So use them, but be frugal! I am currently undertaking a bit of a taste-test on a range of muesli bars so that I can give you a good rundown of their relative merits....Oh the things I do for you all! By the way, a biscuit can be anywhere from 70 to 100 calories, mostly sugar. That is PER biscuit.... JUST DON'T DO IT! Have an an apple or an orange - a punnet of strawberries (only about 45 calories a punnet - that's almost FREE!).
5. Other stuff...some often asked questions....
How many calories should I eat in a day? - Well, if you are attempting to lose weight, I would advise around 1200-1500 for females, 1500-1800 for males (see look at that! I can be gender sensitive!!!). For a maintenance approach, about 2000 for women, 2500 for men. But please remember, these numbers are only approximates. Your age, height, current weight and exercise levels will effect the number. The myfitnesspal.com website will help you calculate a number based on your goals.
What about wine? - Love the stuff myself. The trick is MODERATION. Make sure you can fit it into your calorie allowance (about 100-120 cals per 125ml glass), then enjoy! If you can't cut down, then perhaps cutting out is the answer for you. Do not, I repeat DO NOT substitute alcohol for a meal....bad things will happen.....
What about dinner out? - Assuming it isn't every day or night, enjoy yourself. So that things don't go completely off the rails, why not try making one healthy choice through dinner - say no to bread or swap chips for salad. Chose oysters for started rather than salt and pepper calamari.
Do I change anything if I train? - Not really. Make sure you are eating some good carbs on that day (they are, after all, the body's fuel supply). Have a good healthy snack after training - yoghurt, banana, boiled egg, apple. I like to make sure I have a good protein on training days to help my muscles rebuild. You might want to make training days a 3-snack day.
What about sleep? Ah, glad you asked!! There have been studies done that show people who sleep well, and for long enough, lose more weight than those who don't. The golden number is, apparently 7.5 hours per night. Make sure you get this much sleep. Your body will love you for it.
OK! ENOUGH! That is quite a bombardment! Tomorrow, we will look at quick wins and 'cheats', as well as the good, the bad and the downright ugly when it comes to nutrition....
And, by the way, if you have any queries or questions, let me know. I can almost guarantee that you wont be the only one wondering about it!
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fit mango
jayne@fitmango.com.au
call me on 0417691413
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